Method of transmitting data using HARQ

Abstract

A method of data transmission using HARQ is provided. The method includes transmitting an uplink data, receiving an ACK/NACK signal for the uplink data, keeping the uplink data in a HARQ buffer when the ACK/NACK signal is an ACK signal, and retransmitting the uplink data when an uplink scheduling information for retransmission of the uplink data is received. In the present invention, a transmission error in an ACK/NACK signal is promptly detected, and thus data can be transmitted at a high speed.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of data transmission using a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) scheme performed by a transmitter, the method comprising:
 transmitting data to a receiver; 
 receiving an acknowledgement (ACK) signal for the data from the receiver; 
 determining whether or not an uplink grant associated with the ACK signal is received; and 
 keeping the data in a HARQ buffer if it is determined that the uplink grant associated with the ACK signal is not received within a certain time period from the receiver, 
 wherein, if retransmission is requested, the transmitter determines whether a measurement gap exists at retransmission time, and 
 wherein a number of current transmissions is incremented by one if the retransmission is requested. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the uplink grant is transmitted on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the data is a medium access control protocol data unit (MAC PDU). 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the uplink grant comprises a new data indicator (NDI), the NDI indicating retransmission. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein if the uplink grant is received, an incremental redundancy version is set as indicated by the uplink grant. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 flushing the HARQ buffer if the number of current transmissions is determined to be equal to a maximum number of transmissions of the data. 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 setting the maximum number of transmissions for all logical channels and HARQ processes. 
 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 initializing the number of current transmissions to zero after a HARQ process is determined. 
 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the transmitter flushes the data if it is determined that the uplink grant associated with the ACK signal is received from the receiver. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the certain time period is a transmission time interval (TTI). 
     
     
       11. A transmitter for data transmission using a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) scheme, the transmitter comprising:
 a radio unit configured to:
 transmit data to a receiver; 
 receive an acknowledgement (ACK) signal for the data from the receiver; 
 determine whether or not an uplink grant associated with the ACK signal is received; and 
 keep the data in a HARQ buffer if it is determined that the uplink grant associated with the ACK signal is not received within a certain time period from the receiver, 
 wherein, if retransmission is requested, the radio unit determines whether a measurement gap exists at retransmission time, and 
 wherein a number of current transmissions is incremented by one if the retransmission is requested. 
 
 
     
     
       12. The transmitter of  claim 11 , wherein the data is a medium access control protocol data unit (MAC PDU). 
     
     
       13. The transmitter of  claim 11 , wherein if the uplink grant is received, an incremental redundancy version is set as indicated by the uplink grant. 
     
     
       14. The transmitter of  claim 11 , wherein the radio unit is further configured to flush the HARQ buffer if the number of current transmissions becomes equal to a maximum number of transmissions of the data. 
     
     
       15. The transmitter of  claim 14 , wherein the radio unit is further configured to set the maximum number of transmissions that is applied to all logical channels and HARQ processes. 
     
     
       16. The transmitter of  claim 11 , wherein the radio unit is further configured to initialize the number of current transmissions to zero after a HARQ process is determined. 
     
     
       17. The transmitter of  claim 11 , wherein the radio unit flushes the data if it is determined that the uplink grant associated with the ACK signal is received from the receiver. 
     
     
       18. The transmitter of  claim 11 , wherein the certain time period is a transmission time interval (TTI).